And that is too bad. This is actually an unprecedented opportunity for Chicago. While we think the Army Corps' estimated timing and price tag are indeed overblown, a project to separate and improve the Great Lakes and Mississippi River systems would clearly be a multibillion dollar investment bringing lots of jobs, sustained economic activity and potential improvement to aging, failed infrastructure in this city that is harming the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River... And it has the added advantage of holding off the plague of Asian carp that would ravage Lake Michigan.

So, it won't be cheap. But what will be the impact of tourists being hit by flying 60 pound fish on North Avenue beach to Chicago’s economy? What about the destructive impact of Asian Carp on the $7 billion per year fishing industry in the Lakes? The price of doing nothing is much, much higher than fixing the problem.

The price-related pushback ignores that the Chicago River is broken--for water management, goods movement and dangerous pollution that violates the Clean Water Act and puts people and property in harm’s way. We are already going to be on the hook for an array of public works projects in Chicago to fix the water infrastructure of the river to protect our property, economy, health and safety.

And, the pushback ignores that many parts of the Corps’ report represent projects that are going to have to be undertaken in this region as large public works projects. Those are always expensive investments.

But those investments come with returns, in economic investments, jobs and improved quality of life. The Corps has unfortunately described this project’s cost without identifying or quantifying any of those benefits, including jobs, improved health and safety better connections between the waterways and the rest of our goods transportation system, increased economic activity in parts of the City that don’t see a lot of that right now, and protection of an irreplaceable national asset—the Great Lakes: in and of themselves worth many billions of dollars annually.

So, again: why wouldn't we get together and push for this?

Whatever the answer ends up being, we do owe the Corps thanks. Thanks for reinforcing the lessons shown in previous studies that a separation of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River systems is effective and very doable in the Chicago region. And thanks for making it clear that a practical way forward will have to come from decision-makers and stakeholders here in the region. It is time for civic leaders, labor, transportation and infrastructure experts, community groups and other stakeholders to convene and iron out an actionable, realistic separation solution that can protect the Great Lakes, revitalize our waterways and spur a Burnham-esque advance for the region.

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Switchboard is the staff blog of the Natural Resources Defense Council, the nation’s most effective environmental group. For more about our work, including in-depth policy documents, action alerts and ways you can contribute, visit NRDC.org.